An Okeechobee man accused of reckless driving on a practice field at the Okeechobee Sports Complex was arrested Thursday ...
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An man accused of reckless driving on a practice field at the Okeechobee Sports Complex was arrested Friday in Martin County.
Earlier this week, Okeechobee Sheriff Noel E. Stephen announced the probable cause warrants for Bryant Lloyd Bennett, age 20, stemming from two incidents, one partially caught on video at the Okeechobee Sports Complex in late April 2022.
The case was assigned to Deputy Adrian Rogers, who investigated a video showing a motor vehicle driving through one of the practice fields filled with T-ballers.
The OCSO investigation was immediate, as was the response from the public, with tips about the driver's nickname coming in almost immediately. Using only that nickname, Detectives Jose Garduno and Michael Cauley found a possible suspect through social media outlets, which took weeks to develop.
Rogers met separately with the numerous independent witnesses, who positively identified Bennett through a photo lineup as the person they saw driving that day during the park incident with the children.
Other witnesses positively identified Bennett through a photo lineup as the driver who later returned that night to the sports complex, driving at high speeds. However, this time the driver lost control of that vehicle which flipped. The driver fled that scene leaving his passengers behind in the car.
With his investigation complete and weeks of hard work, Rogers filed for probable cause warrants with Assistant State Attorney Ashley Albright's Office in Okeechobee.
Those probable cause warrants were issued for Bryant Lloyd Bennett with a collective of eight charges combined from both incidents are as follows:
1) One count of leaving the scene of an accident with property damage of more than $50 - 316.061 (1)(a)
2) Two counts of no valid drivers license - 322.03 (1)
3) Two counts of reckless driving - 316.192 (1)(a)
4) Three counts of child abuse 827.03 (b)(2)
Although Bennett frequents Okeechobee, it was believed he was hiding out on the Treasure Coast. The sheriff's office asked for the public's help to find the suspect.
An alert Treasure Coast resident who read a shared post on Facebook recognized Bryant Lloyd Bennett in Martin County.
